Add a Mermaid's tear- version 2
by Samstar1990
Summary: A part of my rewritten challenge you can find the original on my account. To gain something of ultimate value; the unthinkable must be performed. The line is etched upon the brow of every nation, the taste of the water still on their lips. What happens though when one nation desires the fountain of youth once more?


In order to have obtained something of ultimate value; the unthinkable act must be performed. This was the way things were. If one is to shun heaven by going against its design then a sin must be performed. In the end it was a decision to not be taken lightly. This was something the personification of Spain knew too well, lacing the gold chain of the large pocket watch around his fingers as he stared at the clock face on the front lost in his memories.

Memories he wished he could forget.

He cast his eyes upwards staring through the branches of the tree he had taken refuge beneath and watched the stars as they twinkled above him far beyond his reach. The night was peaceful, it allowed a person to escape the reality of the day. And what a day he had endured.  
-

The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed one loud and clear to the world. Antonio brushed his hands down the front of the jacket, looking over himself in front of the large table mirror outside the dining hall of a volunteering Naval officer. The officer was a cheerful young man eager to make a good impression with the country it seemed, but other than that he appeared to be a trustworthy member of the Navy. The venue however was the first part to make him suspicious. It was to be his understanding that he was meeting with another nation which he knew would usually be hosted by the monarch. This meant one of two things; either there was another party going on he wasn't aware of, or the royalty were not aware of the party going on here. Which at the end of it meant he was in some form of trouble. Trying his best to leave any and all suspicion at the door he let out a long breath and stood before the doors motioning to the waiting hand servant he wished to make his entrance.

The door swung open onto the large hall already filling with food and drink for an evening of festivities. The only thing empty was the chair of the one who had called him here. The feeling of suspicion lay heavy on the bottom of his stomach again as he sat himself down and adjusted himself once more. Antonio did not have to wait long however as the double doors at the other end of the room were pulled open to revealing a young woman.

And it all made sense.

The woman was a marvel of tanned skin and long curly brunette hair, Maroon eyes peeked teasingly over the edge of her black lace fan that was lowered to reveal red lips and a small smile. Her bosom was framed perfectly within the corset of her dark emerald ball gown. Her name was Carmela, the personification of Sicily.  
"Ah Princesa" The Spaniard smile and rose bowing a little to her "I should have guessed you had summoned me. You always did have a flair for theatrics"

The young woman responded with a small giggle as he was helped into her seat. "I only wanted to surprise my old jefe" she teased leaning forward a little to give a full display of her womanhood.

This made her guest a little uncomfortable and he internally sighed. She had a bad habit of playing man like fiddles and he couldn't help but feel it was his own fault; the Spaniard never was very good at the scolding thing. He just wished she would stop batting her eyelashes at him.

"So… why all the secrecy or does the young man of the household owe you a favour?"  
Carmela smiled and dabbed her lips with a napkin "So suspicious, do not fret Antonio I have not brought you here to trap you but…this is something I would rather not concern the royalty with"

Antonio raised an eyebrow and sipped his wine. She took his silence as a means to continue.

"I need your help, I wish to unite the South of Italy and make my country stronger but…" she sighed

"Elario by any chance?" The Spaniard asked feeling a headache coming on. Antonio didn't raise just Carmela in his home, there was a second. Her brother was a boy called Elario; God's gift to harvest he would joke, whilst his sister never took to housework, he took to farming like a duck to water. In the end though the man had to admit he loved them equally as underlings.

After they both left him however, Carmela grew stronger in her stance and influence, whilst Elario began to cultivate the land and slowly grew ill. It was something Antonio had attempted to ignore but the fact was the boy was fading, it was more a question of when he would last see him.

"Oh you are so smart! Yes this is about my lowly brother" She seemed… too happy to be discussing this "As you know, unfortunately baby Elario is ill and has very little time left. So I asked him to give him power to me and I would join to two kingdoms of Sicily" She rose her arms wide in a dramatic fashion before deflating and looking scorned.

"But he refuses, he says I am not good enough to take on a kingdom" Carmela spoke bitterly stabbing her knife into her meat "But what does he know I am better equipped to handle Italia than both my brother's combined therefore…I am going to take it by force"  
Antonio gritted his teeth "You know Civil war is never a good solution to sibling spats" he laughed a little nervous and to his surprise she also laughed.

"On no I would never dirty my hands that way" Her expression turned dark "Not when there are more ancient and efficient ways"

"Ancient?"

"Oh come now don't tell you have forgotten the fountain?"

With that Antonio's green eyes grew wide and he slammed his hand's to the table standing "You cannot be serious Carmela?! Do you not recall the mistakes your grandfather made with that fountain? Of all the things that you could ever come up with I never expected you to come up with something so obviously stupid!"

There was a long silence as Carmela decided to begin eating instead. There was the sound of a man clearing his throat. Antonio looked to the left of him to see one of the Spanish military advisors lurking in the shadows.

"Allow me" The man interrupted "From an alliance point of view, a united South Italy is beneficial to us. A small sacrifice at the fountain will overflow into our own fountain of prosperity"

Antonio made a noise of disgust and threw his napkin at the man.

"You have no right to make decisions on my behalf, especially when you have absolutely no idea about what you are dealing with" He growled "If I knew any better I would think this is some roundabout why of committing treason against the crown"

Unable to comprehend the stupidity of the situation, the green eyed male left the room in a whirlwind of his own heading straight for the garden of the property. Antonio was grateful to feel the cold air against his face as he continued to fume over this indecency pacing back and forth across the patio. Carmela wouldn't even understand how he was feeling anyway being just a baby when she underwent the ceremony all those years ago. He on the other hand was old enough to remember the heartache of what the Roman Empire did to him… and his family.

An unknown amount of time passed before Antonio began to calm seeking out a nearby bench to sit down. He had made many decisions in the past but this one took the biscuit.

"That was rather uncivilized" A voice echoed through the night behind him. Carmella had followed him outside after all.

"You think you have anything else to add to my mood because I am not interested young lady"

"I had hoped that as my former mentor that you would understand the importance of expanding one's influence" She smiled sweetly "But I know Elario is your golden  
child so at the same time I am not surprised"

"I cared for you both equally"

"And I could not be more grateful but, I know I have not been the nicest of children. You could say disrespectful and mischievous but, I take after my grandfather and I will get what I want" She informed him with a determined look that sent a chill through Antonio. Had that look always been in there? He tried to move away as she moved closer and leant over him.

"I have spent quite a long time in both my country and yours and I have come to know quite a lot of important people in both"

Antonio didn't like where this was going, he felt the blood drain from his face as he came face to face with the devilish side of the pretty woman's nature. A true power to be feared.

"You're….blackmailing me?"

"Think of it more as a persuasive measure. You know what is needed for the ceremony, you can bring me what I need for the ceremony. And if you don't…I will not feel a thing as I sink you from within"

The male was left speechless watching the woman walk away from him casting a long shadow over him. His breath caught in his throat and he felt a twinge of fear. Could he really allow someone with such a Roman spirit to get what she wants? Did he really not have a choice right now?

He looked up to meet the eyes of the military advisor who bowed and smiled before leaving, the man who help to summon demon from within the female nation. The Spaniard knew he had to get out of that house. The atmosphere alone would kill him if he didn't leave in that moment. Without much of a thought process one foot went before the other as he fled from the household and into the night.

Several hours he spent beneath the tree alone that night. How had he come to this? To be betrayed by someone so close to him. The hurt ran deep into his veins but he knew that the longer he pretended it wasn't happening the more harm that would come from it later. For tonight he promised himself he would not falter; tomorrow he would face his demons and he would not waver.

Although the idea of what he would undertake did not face him until the day he was set to sail. The large woman who was in charge of the house staff personally came to arouse him from his slumber that morning. It was as if the mother knew today would be a chore to wake the stubborn male determined to pretend this day had never come, as he clawed the bed and tried to remain. She laughed to herself as the grown man proceeded to revert to the age of a six year old in his attempts to negate responsibility.

"Master Antonio, if you do awake soon I will be force to speed things up by combining the stages of getting you ready"

Antonio opened his eyes a little questioning before seeing the robust senora stood over the bed, an evil grin on her kind face and a large jug of water in her hands. He laughed nervously and launched himself of the bed "I am up, I am up!" he yelled "No need for water, please put it down!"

She made a noise of disappointment before pouring the water in the bowl that was situated by the bedside, steam poured from it as the warmth gently rose "Please wash and dress yourself, it seems you have visitors today"

"Visitors?" Antonio asked taking the washcloth and dipping it into the water

"Si, a couple of Italian boys" She muttered seeing his reaction as the cloth slipped from his grip

"Ah…" The Spaniard spoke looking to his feet "Erm, please tell them I will be right there"

She nodded her understanding before leaving the man to his own thoughts. Once the room grew silent Antonio retreated the bed and sat down his head in his hands.

Today had already presented itself as a day he would soon wish to forget but once again the green eyed male had to remind himself that he had no choice whatsoever if he wished to remain peaceful within his own borders. Straightening his back though Antonio realised the two downstairs would not be aware of this.

Downstairs the two young Italians, both alike in appearance sat around the dining table waiting patiently after their overnight journey. One had an auburn colour to his hair whereas the other's hair was a deep almost black colour that held a slight curl to it. The first was North Italy also known as Feliciano, and the second was Naples also known as Elario. Both waited in the mid morning silence of the home for the owner to greet them although the seriousness of the situation lay heavy on both of them.

Antonio arrived downstairs in his full gear; boots shined, green coat brushed to perfection and the plumage in his hat plumped professionally. Removing his hat, his fingers nervously tapped on the rim but he regained his happy smile. Felicinano rose from his seat to greet the Spaniard where his brother remained at the table.

"Hola boys" he greeted them stepping into the room "What a wonderful surprise to see you here. Erm, how are you feeling Elario?" he asked becoming more gentle in his mannerism.

"I have had better days" The boy answered honestly leaning onto the table from where he was seated himself. Feli shifted his weight from one foot to the other as the silence bore on until he sighed.

"Antonio. We know what Carmela has asked you to do, and well…"

"What the actually hell?!" Elario cut in angrily "I didn't realise you despised me that much"

Once again the Spaniard felt the pain run deep seeing the hurt in the boy's eyes "How did you find out?" Was all he could manage to say.

"She's a gloater" Elario responded flatly and his brother nodded accordingly leaving Antonio dumbfounded. What the hell was that girl playing at? He was sure this was meant to be a secret mission but clearly she wasn't satisfied until she watched the life drain from her siblings eyes as she devoured them like a weird demented banshee.

"Your sister" He took a deep breath "Is a monster"

Again the silence hung on the air as the two brother exchanged a look. This was not what they expected at all, and before either had a chance to respond the Spaniard had strode across the room purposefully, and embraced the sickly male in his arms

"I would never want to hurt you, but I am struggling to figure out another way"

"Why are you even helping her in the first place?" Feliciano asked watching the other pull away from the hug with a defeated look.

"She put a knife to my back without me even noticing" He responded

"She's blackmailing you?" Elario spluttered trying to stand up before the state of his body caused him to collapse onto Antonio instead. Feliciano rushed forward and helped put the other back into the chair.

"You know you are not in any state to do that fratello, please calm down"

"How can I calm down Feliciano when that little bitch is forcibly signing my death certificate with his name!" He pointed at Antonio as the anger in his eyes burned.

"Elario I promise you I will find a way around this!" Antonio told him "But until then I need to do as I am told or my whole nation will fall apart"

"She really does get her finger in all the pies doesn't she" Feli sympathised a little petting Antonio's shoulder "But it's a relief to know that you haven't fallen for her unholy charm"

Antonio laughed a little nervously raising a hand to his neck.

"Not like she didn't try, I don't think she realised that it just made me uncomfortable" He admitted. Elario's breathing became short and he seemed tired. "Look…stay here until you are at least well enough to travel again. As soon as I have found what I am looking for out at sea, I will send word"

"You think you will have another idea by that point?" Elario panted looking up at the other with heavy eyes and Antonio nodded.

"And at the end of the day, this country is still mine, and I would gladly go down if it meant not allowing another Rome into the world" he paused "No disrespect"

Both made expression meaning they understood.

"Look" Feli told him "Just make sure that whatever she is planning, don't let anyone else get hurt because of it"

Antonio smiled placing the hat upon his head.

"I promise"


End file.
